About as regional as recipes get.
What can I tell you about apple slices (and I’ve seen it in both the plural and singular to refer to a single tray, but I’ll go with the singular for this discussion). In essence, these are large, pan-sized apple pies, except the crust is softer rather than flakier. They generally tend to be made only in places with long periods of cold weather.
Why this is the case, I’m not sure, but here’s a theory. McIntosh apples themselves thrive in cold weather and are prized in apple pies for their balance of sweet and tart. Additionally, the longer a McIntosh apple stays on the tree, the sweeter it gets.
If you follow this recipe exactly and use apples that are too sweet, it would be absolutely repulsive. People who complain, “This recipe has too much sugar!” about apple pie recipes are usually wrong–their apples have too much sugar.
From a box sold in Columbiaville, Michigan.
Apple Slices
(McIntosh)
Dough:
- 3 c. flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 c. shortening
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 cup milk
Sprinkled on top:
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1 t. nutmeg
6-7 c. apples (sliced)
3 T. flour
2 c. sugar
2 T. butter, dotted on top
1 egg white, beaten and spread on top crust
375 deg., 45 minutes.
Apple Slices Method (provided by Yesterdish)
- You’ll want a sheet pan, ideally a quarter-sheet pan (13×9) or a little bit bigger than that. Grease and flour it.
- Prepare the dough by starting as if it were a pie crust, mixing the flour and salt and cutting in the shortening until it’s coarse and sandy. Then, stir in the egg yolks and milk just until it comes together. Divide the dough into two portions.
- Using half the dough, roll it out to about 1/8th of an inch thick and a width and length big enough to cover your pan with an additional half-inch around each side. (So, if you have a 13×9 pan, roll to 14″ x 10″.)
- Lay the apple slices on the bottom dough in an even layer. (The slices should be what you’d use for an apple pie–thin, and whether you leave the skin on depends on how you feel about skin in an apple pie.) Mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the apples. Dot the butter on top of of apples and sugar mixture.
- Roll out the other half of the dough and lay it on top. Fold in the edges from the bottom crust and pinch to seal.
- Brush beaten egg white on the top of the top crust.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until apples are tender when poked with a knife (through the crust) and crust is browned. Cool; cut into squares.